10 years ago on a whim, Fred Sickly started drawing many triangles and tesseracts, which over time turned into a collection of 110 drawings which constitute the Sickly Tarot.
Every 11 by 17 inch piece is drawn entirely by hand with black Pilot G2 gel pen on Canson eighth-inch graph paper - freehand without pencil or straight-edge, no tracing - ranging between 20 and 140 hours of focused, conscious work per card. The final card, XIV: Signal for The Sickly Suit was completed on April 9th, 2017. The finished product is a 78-card standard tarot deck, plus two additional suits of 15 cards apiece (The Sickly Suit and The Seventh Suit), a joker card (The King of Limbs) and the back panel, for a total of 109 original cards.
The work has been done in a variety of conditions and locations. It has been drawn during break-ups, funerals, loneliness, depression, sobriety, drunkenness, bereavement, celebration, wedding planning, breaks in cramming for college courses, insomnia, arthritis, influenza, giddiness, lethargy, mania, obsession, boredom, surprise, amazement, gravity, depth, pettiness, love, loathing, solemnity, frivolity, poverty, homelessness, homecoming, hiding, ennui, spite, peace, reverence, joy, chain-smoking, melancholy, confusion, clarity, rage, focus, truth, tribute, opulence, change, envy, nudity, entropy, blame, shame, laughter, bliss, stress, anxiety, confidence, and nostalgia.
The images have been drawn in a Denver suburb, and at a flat in the Swiss countryside; at a porn store, at a Buddhist temple. Sickly has worked on it in the freezing cold of an army tent by wind-up lamplight, at desks, in bars, on coffeetables, on meditation cushions, in silence, watching movies, listening to music, on the clock at work. This work was the catalyst for moving to Shambhala Mountain Center for a summer, going back to school, and meeting his wife.
In Sickly’s own words: “The Sickly Tarot Project constitutes the most unique thing I have created in my life and has been one of the most enriching experiences I have had, teaching me more than anything about myself, my view of art, emotion, integrity, potential, and what makes something worthwhile. In the end, it may be the closest thing to a legacy I leave behind when I go. I hope you enjoy it and that it might inspire you to trust and respect your instincts, as it has for me."
More info: kck.st
4 cards from Sickly's Tarot
Is this thing on?
